Problem with CC problem ?

This WebDNA talk-list message is from

1997

It keeps the original formatting. numero = 13734
interpreted = N
texte = This question might be better answered by the bank networks, but I'm not sure if their answers would be as enlightened (or forthright) as the ones emanating from this list. There is a WebMerchant specific angle to the question at the end so the question isn't totally misplaced on this list :-)We're running our store from WebCat through WebMerchant and onto MacAuthorize for instant clearance of CC purchases. 95% of the time it works like a charm. In the remaining 5% there are some declined charges and some charges which don't go through but we get no diagnostics from MacAuthorize telling us what might be wrong. Usually the unexplained failures don't recur if we try the same charge some time later the same day or a following day.Today I ran into what might have been a really fortuitous coincidence. I was at the Sun site, trying to order their Java Companion CD for a measly $29.95. My corporate credit card was rejected ! I tried again, it was rejected again, I tried three or four times in all, all with the same result. Boy their system is slow, they should switch over to WebCat/WebMerchant/MacAuthorize, but that's besides the point.I finally decided to go to lunch but I left the order page up and locked the door so I could follow up after lunch. After lunch I tried again and this time it all went through without a blip !The coincidence is that at the same time, unbeknownst to me, one of our poor customers was going through the same thing at our site. She tried twice and got rejected both times. She finally called us and we talked to her some hours later and told her that we'd try it from our end as she swore there was nothing wrong with her card. We tried it and guess what, no problem, it sailed right through !What I'm wondering is if the occasional failures are due to the CC processing network being down rather than other causes. I could easily imagine that Sun's CC processing network would be the same as ours since we are in relative geographic proximity. That would explain my problems and the simultaneous problems experienced by our customer.Assuming that the above hypothesis is correct, is there any way to trap a diagnostic of some kind to determine that the network just isn't up ?The WebMerchant specific question is if there is some way to tell WebMerchant to try to clear through MacAuthorize x times at y-minute intervals when the problem has been detected ? I'm not talking about trying to force charges which are explicitly declined, just the charges which don't go through but give no explanation of why.I guess the alternative would be to have our problem with order e-mail specify that we don't know why the bank didn't accept the order but the customer might want to try again in an hour or so ? That's a pretty unfriendly way of handling it but it sure beats telling the customer that there is a problem with their credit card.Any insights or inside knowledge ?Thanks,-Sven_____________________________________________________________________ Sven U. Grenander BeeHive Technologies, Inc. http://www.bzzzzzz.com - with a WebCam in Pasadena, California_____________________________________________________________________ Associated Messages, from the most recent to the oldest:

Problem with CC problem ? (Sven U. Grenander 1997)
Re: Problem with CC problem ? (N. Lyne 1997)

This question might be better answered by the bank networks, but I'm not sure if their answers would be as enlightened (or forthright) as the ones emanating from this list. There is a WebMerchant specific angle to the question at the end so the question isn't totally misplaced on this list :-)We're running our store from WebCat through WebMerchant and onto MacAuthorize for instant clearance of CC purchases. 95% of the time it works like a charm. In the remaining 5% there are some declined charges and some charges which don't go through but we get no diagnostics from MacAuthorize telling us what might be wrong. Usually the unexplained failures don't recur if we try the same charge some time later the same day or a following day.Today I ran into what might have been a really fortuitous coincidence. I was at the Sun site, trying to order their Java Companion CD for a measly $29.95. My corporate credit card was rejected ! I tried again, it was rejected again, I tried three or four times in all, all with the same result. Boy their system is slow, they should switch over to WebCat/WebMerchant/MacAuthorize, but that's besides the point.I finally decided to go to lunch but I left the order page up and locked the door so I could follow up after lunch. After lunch I tried again and this time it all went through without a blip !The coincidence is that at the same time, unbeknownst to me, one of our poor customers was going through the same thing at our site. She tried twice and got rejected both times. She finally called us and we talked to her some hours later and told her that we'd try it from our end as she swore there was nothing wrong with her card. We tried it and guess what, no problem, it sailed right through !What I'm wondering is if the occasional failures are due to the CC processing network being down rather than other causes. I could easily imagine that Sun's CC processing network would be the same as ours since we are in relative geographic proximity. That would explain my problems and the simultaneous problems experienced by our customer.Assuming that the above hypothesis is correct, is there any way to trap a diagnostic of some kind to determine that the network just isn't up ?The WebMerchant specific question is if there is some way to tell WebMerchant to try to clear through MacAuthorize x times at y-minute intervals when the problem has been detected ? I'm not talking about trying to force charges which are explicitly declined, just the charges which don't go through but give no explanation of why.I guess the alternative would be to have our problem with order e-mail specify that we don't know why the bank didn't accept the order but the customer might want to try again in an hour or so ? That's a pretty unfriendly way of handling it but it sure beats telling the customer that there is a problem with their credit card.Any insights or inside knowledge ?Thanks,-Sven_____________________________________________________________________ Sven U. Grenander BeeHive Technologies, Inc. http://www.bzzzzzz.com - with a WebCam in Pasadena, California_____________________________________________________________________ Sven U. Grenander

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Problem with CC problem ?

1997

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